Uninvited

A long silence filled the main hall.

Lord Liyang said, "More than ten years ago, when you came here to find me, you only said that you were willing to pay any price as long as you became the ruler of the world."

A Qiu was shocked. It turned out that Xie Lang's acquaintance with Lord Liyang was due to this.

Lord Liyang continued, "But I have never asked you what made you have such thoughts and come to this place that night."

From A Qiu's perspective, Xie Lang looked dazed, his eyes filled with reminiscence. In that instant, countless memories must have flooded his mind, one after another.

Whenever she saw Xie Lang lost in memories, A Qiu would instinctively become alert. Because she knew better than anyone else that when Xie Lang was lost in memories, his emotions would fluctuate wildly, or he might even summon another part of himself, which would make the situation uncontrollable.

Fortunately, Xie Lang was still rational at this moment. He remained silent for a long time before saying dejectedly, "It's better not to mention it. I came here not to talk about my past, but to ask you to go back."

Lord Liyang remained motionless and said, "I cannot."

Xie Lang became agitated again, panting heavily, and said, "Why not? Just because you've changed into this state? I am the Emperor, do you think I can't even take responsibility for this little thing for you?"

He coughed violently, and after a while said, "The Southern Dynasty cannot do without you, especially given my current condition..."

Lord Liyang interrupted him, saying, "The world should not change because of the existence or absence of one person. Moreover, I," he paused slightly, and finally said, "you have been doing very well. If you are truly no longer capable, you may consider passing the throne to someone else."

Even with Ah Qiu's composure, he couldn't help but hold his breath upon hearing this suggestion.

She was probably one of the few people who knew Xie Lang's condition better than anyone else. She had been by his side through his repeated mishaps. The last time, Qi Luo attempted to use a spirit-guiding array to remove a part of his self, but he forcefully broke free and pulled it back. Such turmoil could not possibly be without aftereffects. Considering the importance of a ruler, Xie Lang should indeed consider abdicating the throne.

However, Crown Prince Xie Tiao currently lacks both prestige and power. A hasty abdication would likely only cause turmoil in the court.

But what surprised A Qiu the most was the naturalness and lack of inhibition with which Lord Liyang made this suggestion.

Only very, very close friends can speak so frankly and openly.

Xie Lang smiled wryly and said, "If you come back to assist him, I will consider it."

Lord Liyang said, "I have found someone to replace me for you. She... has done a good job. You can entrust your affairs to her with peace of mind." As he spoke, he seemed to glance at A Qiu without making a sound.

Upon hearing this, Xie Lang suddenly burst out laughing: "So you refused to come back because of her? You're afraid she'll see you looking like this, neither human nor ghost?"

Lord Liyang remained silent for a moment, then his tone lost its previous composure as he said, "This is none of your business. In any case, I have fulfilled my promise to you and do not owe you anything."

Xie Lang slammed his sword heavily on the ground and shouted, "But I can't watch you hide like this forever, holed up in this dilapidated place, half-dead!"

After saying this, he raised the Ancestral Dragon Heavy Sword with both hands and smashed it straight into the curtain with all his might.

Judging from its momentum, it seems intent on forcing Lord Liyang to reveal himself from behind the layers of curtains that reach the ground.

Out of concern, A-Qiu almost cried out, hurriedly covering her mouth. She reassured herself that Lord Liyang was not a weak scholar, and she would be fine without his help.

Sure enough, the curtain swayed, and the figure inside moved. Looking at the shadow reflected on the curtain, it was Liyang Divine Lord blocking the Ancestral Dragon Sword with two fingers of his left hand.

Xie Lang said in a deep voice, "You still won't show yourself? If I use even a little more force, this hand of yours will be crippled!"

He added, “The you I knew was so proud and independent, always going your own way. Why is it that now you’re like a little girl, hiding away and not even daring to see your old friends!”

Lord Liyang was silent for a moment, then his voice carried a hint of anger: "I should have died long ago! I'm not alive now because I owe you anything! Even the fact that I'm still here right now doesn't mean I owe you anything! I'm not a servant of your Xie family, and there's no reason for me to be at your beck and call forever!"

As he spoke, he flicked his wrist, and the Ancestral Dragon Heavy Sword, weighing over ten kilograms, was actually held between his two fingers and sent flying back.

Xie Lang was so shaken that he staggered back a step, sword and all. After using his sword to steady himself, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The Divine Lord Liyang, seemingly unable to remain seated, stood up and said, "How could your body be in such a state?" He then smiled bitterly, "In this state, you still think you can force me to reveal myself with the Ancestral Dragon Heavy Sword?"

Xie Lang spat fiercely and sneered, "I don't think you're much better off. Your power is intermittent. Fine, since you're determined not to see me, then we won't see each other! We won't see each other until we die!" Sure enough, he immediately picked up the Ancestral Dragon Heavy Sword, turned around, and left.

The ground where the Ancestral Dragon had dragged it emitted a piercing metallic clang.

Just before leaving the palace, Xie Lang turned back, suppressing his anger and coldly said, "In the end, although the world is vast and the land is vast, only I know your true nature. I don't know how long you plan to hide like this, but I advise you to take care of anything you need to do while I'm still alive."

After saying this, Xie Lang pushed open the door and left without looking back.

It was something that A Qiu could hardly imagine: Xie Lang had this side to him.

But looking back, Xie Lang went to great lengths before Zhao Lingying's death, meticulously weaving lies to ensure she could leave without any regrets. Perhaps Xie Lang wasn't entirely devoid of affection—if he truly wasn't, he wouldn't have developed another self, struggling and sinking into pain day and night.

Inside the curtain, Lord Liyang stood motionless, but to A Qiu now, his figure seemed somewhat desolate.

She suddenly realized that she still seemed to know too little about him.

She was still unsure whether to appear in the palace to see him when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure behind the curtain. She swayed precariously and was immediately terrified.

She no longer cared that Lord Liyang hadn't called her, nor did she care that he had been pushing and shoving Xie Lang away from her. She immediately pounced out and lifted the curtain to enter.

But when she lifted the curtain and looked up, what she saw surprised her greatly.

But the Divine Lord Liyang was slumped on the ground, his faint light seemingly dimmed, and blood was dripping from the tip of his left finger, which was hanging down to the ground.

His face was as pale as gold paper, and the mask on his face was not the same as the previous Shan Cangyu mask, but the mask of a Shen'ao soldier.

Ah Qiu immediately understood why he had so firmly refused to meet Xie Lang. If Xie Lang were to see that he had actually condescended to dress up as a soldier of the Divine Hound Camp, he would surely laugh himself to death.

In this way, many of the questions that were stuck in A Qiu's throat no longer needed to be asked.

It was indeed him who repeatedly came to the aid of the Divine Mastiff camp just now.

A Qiu couldn't utter another word. All she knew was to tear a large piece of silk from her sleeve and, regardless of whether he wanted it or not, she took his hand and began to bandage it to stop the bleeding.

His finger must have been injured when he was thrown back by Xie Lang's sword. Therefore, Xie Lang was right. If Xie Lang had used even a little more force at that time, his hand would probably have been ruined, but he insisted on being stubborn.

After a flurry of activity, A Qiu couldn't help but complain, "Your body is clearly not up to it, why did you still want to see him? If you didn't want to see him, wouldn't it have been better to have Zhulong simply refuse to see you?"

Only after she said those words did she realize that her tone really sounded like that of a wife.

This time, the person behind the mask didn't make fun of him, but only gave a wry smile and said, "I didn't want to see you either, but you still followed me."

A Qiu didn't feel awkward at all, and simply said, "At least for now, I'm finally certain that you're human and not an immortal. You can get hurt and bleed just like everyone else, and in the Divine Hound Camp, you were using martial arts."

At this point, she suddenly remembered something and immediately asked, "Why do you know my master's swordsmanship?"

She had barely finished speaking when she heard the other person gasp.

Then, he said in a deep voice, "You really have no recollection of me at all?"

Hearing him say this, A Qiu stared intently at him. Beneath the mask, his eyes were as deep as the sea, gleaming with a sharp light; his nose was high and straight, as if carved by a knife; and his jawline was sharply defined. ...This deity was truly exceptionally handsome.

She immediately shook her head to stop her wild thoughts, and replied, "I don't remember. Could it be that I should have seen you before?"

Lord Liyang's gaze darkened slightly, whether from disappointment or anger, it was hard to tell. He took her hand, the one she had just used to bandage him, and pressed his palm against hers, saying in a deep voice, "You still don't remember?"

When A Qiu's palm was touched by his warm palm, she suddenly felt as if her whole body was on fire, and even the blood in her veins seemed to flow faster.

She had never experienced this feeling before. Startled, she threw her hands up and stood up. As a result, Lord Liyang was pulled off balance and fell straight onto her.

She knew he was injured and could no longer use her martial arts to shake him back, so she could only let him press down on her heavily. Her heart was beating fast and fast, and she was extremely flustered.

Lord Liyang was already weak, but he had no intention of trying to get up. He simply whispered in her ear, "What kind of person is your master?"

His breath brushed against her earlobe, still warm, making her feel even more that he was one hundred percent human, a living, breathing person. Thinking of this, she felt doubly embarrassed, her ears turning red, and she stiffly replied, "More handsome than you, more skilled in martial arts than you. I've finished speaking, Divine Lord, can you get up now?"

Unexpectedly, Lord Liyang was not angry. He only seemed unable to resist chuckling lightly and said teasingly, "You really know how to lie through your teeth just to reject me. You've never even seen my true face, so how do you know I'm not as handsome as him?"

Ah Qiu was speechless. He had been so focused on refuting him and making him back down that he had completely forgotten about this point.

Lord Liyang rested his chin on his hand with interest and looked at her, saying, "Even if I'm not as good-looking as him, or as skilled in martial arts, I still have one advantage that he doesn't have."

A Qiu asked, confused, "What?"

He leaned close to her ear again and whispered, "That means I'm willing to marry you, but he can't."

A Qiu's face flushed red, and he shouted, "If you don't behave yourself, I'll have no choice but to push you out with my palm."

Lord Liyang finally stood up with a smile, and readily sat down to the side. From A Qiu's perspective, even just seeing his smoothly curved jawline, one could sense that he was in an extremely good mood, without the slightest hint of displeasure.

Despite his injuries and complete depletion of internal energy, it did nothing to change his otherwise good mood.

A-Qiu really didn't know how to face this person.